Category Archives: Light Otaku Living & Rants

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Today I wanted to do Light Otaku Living post that features five friendly tips for making friends in other fandoms because I remember my middle school and high school self being really apprehensive in making friends. I just wasn’t social at all because I felt so content and comfortable in my personal fandom bubble. In fact, later in life I realized it’s much more fun to engage in fandoms such as anime, kpop, comics, movies and the like when you’re surrounded by people as passionate for the medium as you are. This post was inspired by my best guy friend who’s a little bit anxious about making new friends because he’s transferring programs to a new university in the Fall. Like a lot of anime fans, he’s a bit awkward when it comes to meeting new people. So I hope you guys will find today’s tips helpful and encourage yourself to step out of your comfort zone to try something new.

1) Don’t Hate – It’s not weird, it’s just different from what you’re used to. Just because you don’t understand a fandom or its fangirls and fanboys, doesn’t mean you should immediately hate on it. Some fandoms are definitely overhyped and others are under-hyped, so take the time to be patient with people you meet and try to get past the mindless squealing and excited fangirling to really hear someone out and understand what they’re fangirling about when you realize their fandom is different from yours.

2) Ask Questions – You know how you spent about forty hours memorizing random facts on your favourite anime voice actor or all the music show dates for your favourite Kpop groups? Chances are someone else is as obsessed with information hoarding as you. If you hear them mention a name you don’t know or a show you’ve never heard of, ask them to elaborate and chat up the conversation in that way. I don’t know about you but any conversation that lets me show off all my knowledge on all my favourite things is a conversation I’d like to keep going.

3) Be Observant – This one is actually one of my most useful tips. Whether you’re at a club, an event, in class or at a convention, being observant is one of the most important things to keep in mind. When I first met one of my best fangirl friends, we were both attending a screening hosted by my university campus anime club. I noticed two keychains hanging from her purse from one of my all-time favourite anime series. I struck up a conversation with her and this year, she’s my new housemate. You never know where you could find and make new friends for life.

4) Don’t make Assumptions – It’s my understanding that there is a stereotype over all fandom Geeks and otaku. A lot of us fangirls and fanboys have been horribly caricatured as shut-ins who can’t have functioning lifestyles and proper conversations. Don’t assume fangirls or fanboys in your fandom are better than fans of another fandom. Similar to tip number one, keep on open mind and get to know each person as an individual rather than simply judging them based on what fandom they obsess in.

5)Relax – Approaching people is hard, but take a deep breath, roll back your shoulders and stride confidently up to that person. You may surprise them and yourself when you find the courage to speak up. Don’t be afraid to bring up your fandom in introductory conversations when someone asks you about your hobbies. It’s not mandatory to immediately put forth the fact that you’re into so and so fandom but it also shouldn’t be something you intentionally try to hide. Like it or not, your fandom is a part of you, and really if you’re spending over twelve hours a day watching anime, listening to kpop, googling facts and engaging in this fandom, I hope you’d be proud of it and let it shine into your everyday self.

So I hope you guys enjoyed this post and found something relatable. These tips are based purely on my personal experience engaging in different kinds of fandoms from different cultures, not only in anime or Kpop but also various genres of music, dance, literature, photography and other topics. Yeah, I’m an obsessive person.

The bulk of these tips are also inspired by what I believe is a healthy way to engage in fandom culture while balancing it with a perfectly social and healthy lifestyle. I didn’t include this in the list but you can also make new friends online now over MMO games and forums that engage with individuals all over the world as well as on social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr and other similar sites. If you’re really nervous about face to face conversations, start with a simple reply to someone on Twitter or just shoot someone a message. Interactions don’t seem as daunting over the screen and you can slowly build up your confidence to approach other fangirls and fanboys in conventions or clubs when you feel ready.

Thank you guys so much for reading!! I hope some of these tips were useful for you guys and if you did, you could always reblog on WordPress or share this on Twitter and Facebook ^^ If you have any tips of your own, feel free to leave them in the comments section below. Thanks for dropping into my blog and I will talk to you all very soon 🙂

Check out my video answers HERE Questions are down below! Cloudy Commentary: Hello everyone, today I wanted to share with you all a new and really fun tag that I made up last week. It was inspired by the crazy fangirling that’s … Continue reading →

It’s been roughly a month since I started doing videos on Youtube. I still don’t think I”m entirely accustomed to the change but thank you very much to everyone who has been with me here and supported me in my first few Youtube videos. Today I wanted to rant a bit about the differences between blogging and vlogging and my thoughts on both mediums.

Originally I was pretty adverse to Youtube – 1) because I totally did not want to be in front of the camera 2) because I only had a very vague idea of what video editing entailed. After a long long long process of deliberation in which the decision was thrown into a volcano, taken out, chopped into pieces and put back together with fairy glue, I decided to try making videos. If you guys watched my very very first video, the rendering process made the quality horrible and I had no idea what to say or what to do. For the first few videos I was totally uncomfortable looking at the camera and some close friends even pointed that out to me. The videos were intended to bring out my opinions and thoughts on certain topics within the Otaku culture because while littlecloudcuriosity offers a great space for me to voice my thoughts, I’m always caught up with the weekly episode reviews and I never get the chance to insert a lot of rants. Even when I do post rants, they are either lost in the huge pile of seasonal reviews or I never get around to even writing them because I’m trying to balance my seasonal reviews with schoolwork.

Blogging and Vlogging are those similar but different kinds of things. Blogging is a more literary medium and while you can incorporate visuals are audio, it’s nothing like the immediacy of a video where someone directly talks to you. A blog post definitely takes less time to upload but a vlog is rewarding in itself because the editing process is much more tedious. The copyright standards on Youtube are a challenge in itself. Last week I got a copyright flag for some anime music I used in my first Anime North 2014 vlog which is why I ended up taking it down, re-editing and re-uploading. Doing videos in my room is easy, vlogging on the go, trying to keep a camera straight and centered on my face is hard. All in all the AN 2014 vlog was a huge learning process and a great way to wrap up the first month.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not writing this post to complain, rather, the opposite. I’m writing this to show you guys, honestly, what this process has been like to me. I don’t think I’ll ever be super professional with video-making (I really should have taken more film courses in university LOL) and I don’t expect to become a Youtube sensation over night but it actually gives me happy feels to know my videos bring me closer to all of you =’)

Looking forward…

As I’ve made more and more videos, however, I actually enjoy hopping in front of a camera to talk every day. I enjoy making jokes with you guys. I love reading your comments. Yes, I do read each and every single comment I get because Youtube sends me a notification. It’s a bit easier to hop in front of a camera and just talk now (even though I sometimes end up doing like 5 cuts for one line cause I botch it up so badly). I think I’m a pretty bad actress which is why comedy scenes don’t come up a lot in my videos and I’m a lot more eloquent with back space, copy and paste. You guys don’t know this but I cut out a lot of “um’s” in -editing process. Even I get tired of my own “um… um…” XDD

I am working out a way to keep a fair balance between what goes on here on my blog and what goes on on my channel. I don’t want my channel to take over a lot of the seasonal episode reviews even though a lot of subscribers would like to see me review anime in video mode. I have already taken a look at the summer season and with all the manga and games that are being adapted into an anime, I have at least 8 shows I need to review, almost 10 shows to watch regularly and about 12-13 shows that require First Impression reviews. I think I will split up the reviews here and on my channel. With some shows, it’s easier to rant about in person while others require some in depth analysis that only formal writing will bring out the force of my thoughts. I guess I’ll take it one step and one day at a time.

Again if you guys made it to the end of the post, you are a trooper. This post was pretty text heavy after all…

Thank you guys very very much for following me here or on my channel. There would not even be a Youtube channel if t wasn’t for all of you guys. I have just reached 200 subscribers so thank you so much for all your support. I will continue to do my best with new content, reviews and rants. Here’s to looking forward =) Ganbarimasu!

I’m a relatively new anime reviewer and I really don’t know that many other reviewers out there so I decided to come up with this anime reviewer tag to bounce around to other anime blogs and get to know other … Continue reading →

I use to think that I handled stress really well because I’m the sort of person that never procrastinates, manages time well and always keeps on top of work…. that was until my grades in one course started to drop because of my assignments and everything went sort of downhill from there. The stress of grades and the rigid schedule left me no time to relax and slim opportunities for creative outlet periods. I had a nervous breakdown, broke out with acne, my ears started ringing and I was just not sleeping well or eating well. On top of that, living on your own means managing your chores and house as well. The only thing that gave me any semblance of distraction from the stress was really blogging.

I experimented with a lot of different relaxation techniques in the past three to four weeks and these are honestly the best ones that work for me as an anime-loving, manga-reading otaku blogger. If you identify with any of these labels, then these might work for you too.

5) Turn off your phone, hide your textbooks and grabyour tablet or your laptop andread your manga. I don’t mean power read that latest chapter to catch up and then go back to work, I mean shut yourself off from everything else in your life and marathon at least twenty chapters of it. If you’re the type of person who goes on long periods of study time to cram and crack down on your course work, make sure you set an equal amount of time where you just binge read something that is not study material. When you’re studying, you are consciously working your brain to make connections and memorize facts, reading something for leisure that requires little to no brainpower that actually entertains you will help you sleep better. Whether you’re re-reading those fifty plus volumes of Naruto or something totally new suggested to you by a manga hosting site, visuals rather than chunks of text will significantly unwind your mind.

4) Exercise your other senses. When you’re studying, you’re mostly straining your eyes and this can leave you with dizziness, fatigue or even a migraine. Whether you go out and exercise your entire body, or you lie on your couch just listening to music or you just do a face mask for twenty minutes or even going out for a Starbucks snack, I’ve found that a great way to de-stress is to do other activities that allow other sensations to overwhelm your mind so that you’re not thinking.

3) Go to your favourite otaku online store and do some browsing or shopping. For those of you who enjoy collecting figures or merchandise, you’d be surprised at how therapeutic shopping can be. You’ll get really excited and start fangirling over new figures coming out and fangirling is probably one of the easiest ways to let all that pent up stress out. Naturally you shouldn’t splurge and go off budget, but a little pre-order item you know that will be delivered to your house when your exams finish, is a real treat to look forward to.

2) Find a video game to play. I don’t care if it’s the original 8bit red version of Pokemon or 3DS Mario Kart, World of Warcraft or League of Legends. I personally like Cytus, a music app on my phone, and Osu, a music rhythm game on my laptop. You’ll be surprised at how good it feels when you get a high score or when you’ve totally slayed an entire tribe of monsters. Gaming is an activity that dominates your mind and often, all your senses. It’s a great way to tune out of the world filled with worries and into a world filled with fairies.

1)Talk to someone. This sounds so cheesy, but I honestly think that talking about it and ranting about your problems is both mentally and emotionally beneficial. When you’re locked up in your room with only textbooks and notes, you’ll panic and worry, then you’ll find yourself googling and self-diagnosing your headaches or migraines and trust me, the internet is THE WORSE place for self-help. Seriously, go talk to a friend, you will be so surprised at how much you realized you were freaking out for nothing when you have someone close to you tell you IT’S GOING TO BE OKAY. And seriously, IT WILL BE OKAY. I slept over at a friend’s house this week because of some apartment problems I was having and I realized right before I fell asleep that I felt so much more lighthearted after hanging out with my best friends for a whole night.

Seriously though, DO NOT PANIC. NEVER PANIC. This stress will pass, these unhealthy bodily symptoms will pass and you will pass your exams if you’ve given your all. University and College exam month is probably one of the most stressful times of the year but at the end of the day, your health is way more important. The most important thing to remember is to breathe deeply when you think you’re about to explode or implode from the anxiety. Just breath, and you’ll get through it. Don’t overdo it, get enough sleep, eat well and good luck to everyone on their finals!

Hi guys, today I wanted to share with you all a wonderful gem of a website called The Collectionary. This site is really great for avid anime merchandise collectors as well as hobbyists in any other field. It not only gives you a place to touch base with what’s on the market and what’s booming with popularity in the collector’s world, but also provides you with the means to delve into what other people are collecting outside your little collection circle. Whether you’re into anime, superheroes, Hello Kitty – whatever you like to collect, there’s a place in The Collectionary for you.

“The Collectionary is based on the belief that there should exist a chronicle of that history, in detail, created by the experts themselves. Compiled and edited by it’s own users, the Collectionary is a nostalgic stroll down memory lane for some people, and for others, a tool to catalog and document the historical significance of the products they love.”

The anime section of The Collectionary is particularly charming for me as an otaku. It’s not just figures and DVDs, but cosplay props, actual cosplay, anime accessories, plushies and even manga. If you follow many of the large overarching anime franchises such as One Piece, Bleach, Black Butler, Naruto, and mostly recently, Sword Art Online and Attack on Titan, you’ll find The Collectionary a really neat place to go merch hunting. There are also tons of old merchandise that you just wouldn’t be able to find on online shopping sites that only keep up with recent in-stock items. Still, that doesn’t mean that the anime section leaves out any of the niche anime you might be into. CHECK OUT THE STUFF I FOUND WHEN I SEARCHED UTA NO PRINCE-SAMA

When you click into an item, it shows you a general price range, where you can potentially find it on sale and allows you to add it to your own “Collections” that you create in your account to keep track of your favourite products. The site is fairly easy to navigate once you get the hang of it and if you’re into collecting STUFF in general, you’ll find the Collections feature a great way to organize ALL your interests. My tip for you guys who are new to The Collectionary is to try and be specific with what you’re looking for. In anime merchandise, don’t just type anime, search up an anime title or perhaps a character name. Once you get use to the way the search engine works, you will definitely find something from some fandom that you’re a part of.

Thank you guys so much for reading and I hope you all have a lot of fun on site. Special thanks to The Collectionary for reaching out to me and introducing me to this wonderful new world of merchandise fandom!

I’ve always noticed some things about certain people… some people just take things too seriously. Like when you comment on what they’re wearing or you disagree with them, somehow they take it to heart as if you’ve just backstabbed them and it’s a betrayal of your friendship that you didn’t like the same anime that they did.

Three scenarios come to mind – the first is that you both have different tastes, and you disagree, then you find something you do have in common and relate on the latter. The second scenario is that you both have completely different opinions and there’s no common ground, but you agree to disagree. The third scenario is that you just go ALL OUT and verbally (sometimes even physically) BEAT THE CRAP OUT OF THEM because they don’t like what you like. And hey, who can blame you for going all out when the idiot friend who you’re conversing with just DOESN’T GET HOW AWESOME – let’s say – LEVI is, from Shingeki no Kyojin. And you’re ready to tie them up in a courtroom full of people and kick the living crap out of them.

… Worked with Eren I guess

I mean, I feel like some people just take it so personally when I tell them that I just didn’t think their favourite character was as awesome as they thought. And I think it’s partially because of the fact that we relate so much to our favourite characters. All the strengths and weaknesses and quirks that we love in our favourite characters, we probably find in some aspect of our own personalities. In these moments of heated debates, when your favourite characters are challenged and by extension perhaps you feel as if your own person is challenged, I urge you to KEEP CALM. No seriously. Calm the frick down. Because you have to realize that everyone has different tastes and likes different things. It’s especially to keep calm when you’re talking about controversial characters or too clichéd characters or characters you just happen to love for their looks. Let people fangirl or fanboy over what they want. Let them scream and glomp for who they want because you probably feel the same way they do at some point, just towards a different character.

If you think about it, if we all agreed on one ultimate character, we might end up with fifty Kiritos cosplays at an anime convention… oh wait, that already happens. Never mind. Kirito’s a horrible example and in my opinion, he’s way too over-cosplayed, but he’s relatable to a lot of anime fans out there because many of them are gamers and they all really want to actually be trapped inside their favourite video game. Hence, at least fifty Kiritos at every convention…

Exhibit A…

How many Kiritos does it take to clear a game? Just one, cause it always works out for Kirito. CAUSE HE’S KIRITO DAMMIT!!

Still, there’s a difference between judging something from a more objective perspective than simply from your own selective tastes. For example, I read Tokyo Ravens manga or Shingeki no Kyojin manga and I can honestly say that I am not a fan of the art style either. I found Tokyo Ravens art kind of awkward compared to the animated style and the Shingeki no Kyojin is so shonen and rough that it’s just not for me. BUT on the other hand I absolutely LOVE the art style for Shingeki no Kyojin because it’s exactly that ruggedness that brings out the gritty atmosphere of the story and I really think the art style and the plot go wonderfully together.

All I’m saying is that the next time you get into a heated debate over series endings or anime plotlines or favourite or hated characters, try to keep a clear head. It’s great to find someone who likes what you like cause you can both hop up and down excitedly for twenty minutes together but on the flip side try putting yourself in that other person’s shoes. Why would someone like what I don’t like? Try to come out with some reasons other than, “They’re wrong and stupid. And stupidly wrong. The end.”

I’ve ranted for a while and I think what my main point is – keep an open mind, whether you’re meeting new people or hanging out at a convention or evaluating new anime. I think you’ll find it much easier to make anime friends as well as keep conversations from descending into that awkward “well we don’t have anything in common so let’s slowly walk away from each other” moment. And this probably applies to all hobbies and things in life, not just anime. It just seems to me that there’s always a lot of in-fighting between otakus on who’s the best and which season was better or who the ultimate voice actor is.

Oh and if you’re on the receiving end of this, the best thing to do, when someone is raging at you, is usually to just walk away. That are stick a Miku leek into their mouth to shut them up – depends on who you’re dealing with and whichever’s comes to mind first.

ANYWAY… I hope this post shed some light on your situation if you’re actually arguing with a friend in real life or you’re raging intensely against someone in the comments on the internet somewhere. Thanks so much for reading and I think I’ll try to write more rants this week because I’m feeling rather curious 😉

Okay, maybe it doesn’t go down as melodramatic as this but it seriously does happen., and I’ve been in this awkward position. Casue seriously, how do you even respond to that? It’s like you’re judged by the fact that you like the colour blue while your “friend” likes the colour red. Why does my opinion even matter to you? If I want to fangirl over Eren and Attack in Titan just isn’t your cup of tea, don’t look at me like I’m a complete idiot. I will fangirl who I want to. I feel like there are a few circumstances where you might find yourself being judged for you like, or if not judged, at least given a few weird glances or eye-rolls.

1) Controversial Anime – and by controversial, I don’t mean an anime that addresses issues like abortion or euthanasia or any of that dark stuff. I’m talking about anime where the fandom is split RIGHT. DOWN. THE MIDDLE. Take Sword Art Online for example, that seems to be a big one since the anime finished in 2012 and still, you see Kiritos, Kiritos EVERYWHERE at conventions. There are some fans that absolutely love love love the series despite its flaws (cause let’s face it, every anime has flaws); then there are the fans who ONLY like the first part or ONLY the second part and an argument friendly discussion ensues on some comment section when after fifty raging cap locks comments and then some off topic mentions of a cat video or something about religion, you decide that SAO is just GOOD and you leave it at that cause obviously you won’t convince that other internet stranger to change their mind even though you wasted two hours of your life trying to convince them otherwise.

2) Niche – Niche is actually a pretty wide department of selections, it can refer to a series that just has a strange plot premise and completely throws weird wild cards at you or it can refer to a series that’s directly targeted to a small specific viewership that already has a solid mini fanbase that will love the series no matter what. Otome is kinda like this – the main point of the stories is the romance elements. As an otome fan, you EXPECT there to be at least four guys chasing after one girl and you EXPECT the plot to follow or somewhat resemble the games you’ve already finishes and SORTA EXPECT the heroine to have a personality. In cases like Alice in the Country of Hearts or Haruka in Uta no Prince-sama, she’s great, she’s got her own goals and values – in other cases like Amnesia, when the heroine’s name is, well, you know, HEROINE and SHE HAS AMNESIA, she’s… not as great. Usually if you’re into niche genres or niche anime, only your fellow fangirls or fanboys will understand why you feel the need to collect twenty rubber straps of that ONE character while other people just look at you like you’ve gone insane.

3) What the People deem, “OVERRATED” – Most of us have probably been in this situation. Whether you follow the Big Four (One Piece, Naruto, Bleach, Fairy Tail) which have HUMONGOUS WORLDWIDE FANBASES or you follow something that just rages intensely over tumblr and facebook due to the anime’s recent release like Free! or Attack on Titan. There are going to be a few people who just rain on your fandom parade by saying, “It’s so overrated, it’s not even good.” – but let me ask you this – how is THE ANIME BAD if A LOT of people are watching it? There’s a grain of truth in every rumour and even every overrated fandom. I think my friend Haley put it best when she said, “I don’t think you should not watch an anime just because it’s overrated.” Simple statement, lot’s of meaning.

I guess the point I’m trying to make it is – WATCH WHAT YOU WANT. IF YOU LIKE IT, SCREW WHAT OTHER PEOPLE THINK.

If you wanna watch a series about chocolate rivers with giant titans and singing turquoise-haired girls ALLLLLL IN ONE ANIME, GO AND DO IT – granted if they ever make something like that. But you know what I mean! At the end of the day, do what you want to do because you don’t want to lose out on a really great anime just because everyone tells you NOT to watch it and you don’t want to end up watching something you hate just cause EVERYONE tells you you’re not a “real” otaku if you haven’t seen it. Fangirl or fanboy over what you want. I’m 5 foot and relatively small, I’ve totally stood up to a six foot guy about why he should give Free! a try. Stand up for what you like, defend your favourite anime (don’t get into physical fights of course) but make your anime –pinions known to others and if your current anime friends don’t like what you want, sooner or later, other anime viewers who happen to appreciate the same stuff that you do will come along.

Well, that was a really long rant but I got out what I wanted to say. I hope you guys never come across judgmental otakus and even if you do, don’t let it get you down cause they have no right to dictate how much you love or don’t love an anime. I hope you guys liked this post, thanks for reading and special thanks to my friend Haley for that moment of inspiration for this rant.

UTAPRI LADIES! I have the best news to kick off our December. Have you heard? Broccoli’s Uta no Prince-Sama anime is getting a SEASON 3!!!! It’s been officially confirmed today by the composer of Elements Garden and is scheduled to be aired in 2015. Can’t wait to hear all your favourite seiyuu princes reprising their roles, so excited for new songs and even new idols!! Are you ready? 😉

Hi guys, I know I’ve disappeared for about two days and it’s because I am SO SWAMPED with work lately… which is why I was inspired to do this post. Today I’ll be talking about one of my favourite distressing pastimes and that’s GAMING RAWR!

I’m sure some of you guys probably game on your phones, at home, online, there are games everyone and it’s a great way to kill time during travel time to and from class or just pass the day away. I love logging online and partying with all my friends into dungeons and let my inner geeky gamer Cloudy out for a few minutes… sometimes a few hours. All of you are probably wondering if I play the two big ones – World of Warcraft or League of Legends and to be honest, I really don’t… I’m jut not a really big fan of the art style or the orientation of the game world. I’ve played LaTale, Maple Story, Mabinogi, Age of Wushu (Wulin), Club Penguin, Neopets (no shame), some by Gaia of which the names escape me, and many otome games… and of course, Tetris on Tetris Friends Online just because that’s my classic childhood mindless go-to game (well, not so mindless)

I lean to online games a lot so it’s either generated by the browser or easily downloadable. I’m mainly fan of MMORPG (Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game) games and it’s not only gaming, but social media at the same time because you get to connect with friends or family members on the other side of the globe playing the same game as you. It’s much more exciting than gaming on my own, that’s for sure. I love the MMORPG interactions with people who share similar interest with me and I enjoy following otome browser games over the summer every once in a while ❤

The big game I’ve never really been able to get away from was Maple Story. I first played it in elementary school when the experience points were A LOT HARDER TO GET. Hell, there use to be only 6 servers. Our whole gang in grade seven and eight played and it was a great interactive way to connect and chill together after school. I was really obsessed for a while… and when the hype finally died down, I thought it was over and done with, just a phase. Low and behold grade ten when I decided to game Maple Story again over the summer as a way to pass the time. Once again, levelling was extremely difficult. AND now we get to the present year, when the Maple world was restructured, the quests reorganized, the grading curve levelled out and the stories rewritten. I have to admit, my current self is pretty impressed with the newly remade Maple World so if you hated the old one, you’ll love the new one. Seriously.

Recently Age of Wulin has been really great to me too. Since it’s a sandbox style game, you make an account, choose your professions and really cultivate your skills at your own pace. For lovers of ancient Chinese series, history buffs or general martial arts enthusiasts will love love love the world! If you’re into chibi anime art style gaming, go check out LaTale or Maple Story– but if you’re looking for a bit more refined animation, go for Mabinogi or Age of Wushu (Wulin). I generally like two dimensional games because I feel like I have more control when everything’s on one side of me, but I am really impressed with gamers who can manage three dimensional landscapes and still manage to stay alive during dungeon raids or zombie apocalypse hunts.

I’m not an intense gamer on a day-to-day basis which is why I generally try to stay away from the MASSIVE massively multiplayer online role playing games. What I found confusing about some of the big epic fantasy games was how they changed up a lot of the terms to be game-specific. For example, in Age of Wulin, experience points are called cultivation points and it takes a little while for your brain to make those connections when you bounce from game to game.

Part of why I enjoy choosing simple magic worlds involving classic quest styled adventures is because I love stepping into fantasy settings through the role of a character of my choosing whether it be a Hero, a resistance fighter, an Elf Queen or a regular adventurer, and seeing the world through their lens. And really, the fantasy genre is my personal preference but depending on what you like, whether it’s steampunk or sci-fi, dark fantasy or supernatural, there’s probably a game out there for you. Accounts are free and you don’t even have to pay for the game. Overall, MMORPGs are generally easy to catch onto due to the bulk of tutorials that are provided for you at the beginning, once you get ahold of the system, everything comes naturally and there’s no intense pressure to really do anything. You can immerse yourself in the game’s main storyline or reach a certain level and use that status to simply travel the land. I find that hunting down monsters is a great way to vent your rage or stress when it comes to the escapist aspects of the games. My preferred professions are usually archers, crossbowmen, hunters or anything involving medium to long distance projectiles. Somehow I don’t feel secure as a magic user cause if I ever run out of mana, I’m dead met and I’m usually too lazy to run up to monsters to kill them in direct combat so I generally prefer clearing the path up before I proceed. As well, I’ve found that long distance battle generally means fewer hits to health, but then again, I salute the master swordsmen who can charge into an army of orcs or goblins and leave completely unscathed or the master cleric or wizard who can level the earth with ground shaking lightning or storms of fire.

So now we’re nearing the end of our rant. I don’t do these often so I hope you all enjoyed this. Let me know why you guys game, which ones are your favourites and what profession you generally choose. If you play Maple Story (which is what I’m currently on), I would love to game with some of you and if you are not a Mapler, go try that game now! The character designs are adorable, the music is catchy, navigate and the fact that I keep returning it to periodically in my life says something about the story and world.

Thanks for reading!

– Cloudy

What are you pondering today? –Wouldn’t it be cool if one day MMORPGs became virtual reality oriented? *secretly wishes for actual Log Horizon, .hack and Sword Art Online (without the actual dying in game and life thing – duh!)